Lakers-Timberwolves Preview

By CHRIS ALTRUDAPosted Feb 01 2013 2:32PM

The start of their Grammys road trip provided anything but harmony for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Facing their first opportunity to bounce back from a loss since Kobe Bryant turned facilitator and with Dwight Howard out again, the Lakers try to regroup Friday night as they look for a 20th straight victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

During its three-game homestand, all finally seemed right for Los Angeles (20-26) in a season plagued by inconsistency and a lack of chemistry despite its star power. The Lakers averaged 106.0 points and shot 52.8 percent while totaling 89 assists in those victories, and Bryant - third in the league with 28.1 points per game - had more assists (39) than shots (34) in that span.

Bryant seemed well on his way to another double-digit assist total Thursday at Phoenix, racking up nine over the first two-plus quarters in helping the Lakers grab the lead. However, he had none over the final 21 minutes and went 2 for 7 with two turnovers in the last 7:57 as Los Angeles squandered a 13-point lead in the final 10 minutes of a 92-86 defeat.

"Tonight was a big setback for us especially," said guard Steve Nash, who had 11 points in his return to Phoenix. "We were in control of the game and couldn't close it out. That's disappointing."

One of the reasons the Lakers lost their eighth straight road game was Howard leaving with 6:57 remaining after aggravating a shoulder injury that will keep him out Friday.

That means a return to the starting lineup for Pau Gasol, who hasn't hidden his disappointment with coach Mike D'Antoni's decision to bring him off the bench. Gasol, though, has fared well in his seven games as a reserve, averaging 13.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in a little more than 28 minutes a game.

Bryant's 48 assists are his most in any four-game span of his career, and him sharing the ball often provides the Lakers their best chance for a victory. They are 3-15 when Bryant records fewer than five assists and 5-20 when he attempts 22 or more shots. When he takes fewer than 20, Los Angeles is 14-4.

When facing the Timberwolves, Bryant and the Lakers have always found the proper balance for victories since a double-overtime loss March 6, 2007. Los Angeles has won 19 straight over Minnesota (17-25), the longest active streak for one team over another.

The Wolves have dropped five straight after a 96-90 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday that spoiled the return of coach Rick Adelman, who missed 11 games to be with his wife as she dealt with seizures. Nikola Pekovic had 17 points and 12 rebounds but Minnesota was outscored 12-4 over the final four minutes.

"Teams are playing aggressive and they want to win," guard Ricky Rubio said. "We have to come back and don't step back and try to push them."

That lack of aggressiveness has been most apparent on defense. The Timberwolves have allowed an average of 51.0 percent shooting - 7.9 above their season average - and 101.4 points during their losing streak while being outscored in the paint by 9.6 per game.

Adelman is hoping Pekovic and Alexey Shved having a game under their belts after each missed the previous five will help. Shved had 12 points and three assists off the bench Thursday, while Pekovic posted his seventh double-double in 15 home games with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Gasol's start sparks Lakers to victory over Wolves

By JON KRAWCZYNSKIPosted Feb 02 2013 1:28AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Pau Gasol knew he could play like this. Kobe Bryant and Ricky Rubio did, too. The only person in Laker land who seemed to doubt what the gifted post player could do was the man in charge.

Now maybe coach Mike D'Antoni will become a believer as well.

Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup and Bryant nearly had a triple-double in leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 111-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

"It was a good feeling out there," Gasol said. "Like the good old days."

Bryant had 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Steve Nash added 17 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who played without Dwight Howard due to a sore right shoulder. They have won four of their last five games and beat the Wolves for the 20th straight time, the longest active streak in the NBA.

"It's been a rough season so far, no way around it," said Gasol, who topped 20 points for just the third time this season. "Just stay with it, keep playing. You never know when things can change direction. Just play your game when you're out there. Tonight I was able to start, play more minutes, get a good flow. It was a good game."

The mini surge has helped the Lakers (21-26), who started the day 10th in the West, begin to climb out of a big hole. If they are going to get back into the playoff race, Bryant knows Gasol is going to have to be a bigger factor.

"When he's featured, this is what he does," Bryant said. "It's nothing out of the ordinary or unexpected. This is the Pau that helped us get back-to-back championships."

Alexey Shved scored 18 points and Rubio had nine points and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who lost their sixth straight game. They trailed by 29 in the second quarter, but climbed within four in the fourth.

Stumbling into Target Center on an eight-game road losing streak, the Lakers found out at shootaround that they would be without Howard, who flew back to Los Angeles to get platelet-rich plasma therapy on his torn labrum. That put Gasol back in the starting lineup and the disgruntled four-time All-Star responded with 13 points in the first quarter.

"I told him last night to take it easy on us because we needed the win," Rubio said of his Spanish buddy. "And he was saying, `We need a win, too.' He's great."

With only four healthy guards - three of them point guards - Wolves coach Rick Adelman had few options to deal with Bryant. Adelman started out with 6-foot Luke Ridnour on Bryant, and it was a colossal failure. Bryant backed Ridnour down in the post mercilessly, forcing double teams and then finding teammates for wide-open 3s.

The Lakers hit eight of their first 10 3-pointers and shot a staggering 71 percent in the first 15 minutes of the game. And when Bryant and Gasol went to the bench, it only got worse for Minnesota. Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks kept drilling 3s, ripping off a 17-1 run to put the Lakers up 61-32.

"We can't start games like we did today," Rubio said. "I take my fault (in it) because we started too slow. We started with no energy."

These were the Lakers of old. Deep, versatile, talented and relentless.

Then, all of a sudden, they turned into the Old Lakers, and Rubio pounced.

Sensing a letup in intensity, Rubio picked up the pace. Looking like the player he was before tearing the ACL in his left knee - at home against these Lakers on March 9 - Rubio threaded no-look passes to cutting teammates for layups and 3-pointers and crossed over Nash to get to the rim, the kind of move he just hasn't been able to pull off since returning in December. An 11-1 run near the end of the second quarter gave the Wolves a glimmer of hope, and a switch to a zone defense completely befuddled Los Angeles.

After hitting 22 of their first 30 shots, the Lakers missed 19 of their next 24 attempts. A steal and layup by Ridnour made it 72-64 early in the third quarter, and the ghost of blown leads past started to hover over the Lakers.

Two days after the Lakers gave up a 13-point lead with 10 minutes to play to Michael Beasley and the lowly Suns, the Wolves pulled to 94-90 with just under 6 minutes to play on a 3 by Shved. Gasol and Bryant both went without a field goal in the second and third quarters, but Bryant snapped an 0-for-6 skid with a putback, Gasol had a dunk and finished the three-point play, and the Lakers never looked back.

"It's hard," Rubio said. "We've been losing a lot. Even if we make the effort, sometimes it's not enough."

NOTES: Gasol's 3-pointer in the first quarter was his first since Dec. 28. ... The Lakers outrebounded the Wolves 57-40 and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. ... Antawn Jamison had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Lakers. ... Derrick Williams finished with 15 points and nine boards for Minnesota. ... The Wolves went 8 for 18 on free throws.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Lakers 111, Timberwolves 100

THE FACTS: The Los Angeles Lakers built a huge lead on the Minnesota Timberwolves and had just enough in the tank to hold off Minnesota at the end, winning by a 111-100 margin on Friday night. Starting in place of the injured Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 22 points and 12 rebounds and Kobe Bryant had another well-rounded game with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists.

In the opening quarter and a half, the Lakers (21-26) could do not wrong. They scored 37 in the first quarter and built a 29 point lead with 6:22 to play in the second quarter. But the Wolves (17-26) went on a 17-3 run to finish the first half and slowly whittled away at the Lakers' lead, closing the gap to as few as four points. But turnovers by Minnesota and key shots by Los Angeles down the stretch cut Minnesota's rally short. Alexey Shved led the Timberwolves with 18 points. His five 3-pointers are a career best. Derrick Williams (15 points and nine rebounds) and Ricky Rubio (nine points, seven assists) also contributed some of their most effective minutes of the year for Minnesota.

QUOTABLE: "We knew they were going to make a run. And we helped them out by not attacking their zone. I'm happy though. We just have to get wins and that was one."

-- Lakers' coach Mike D'Antoni

THE STAT: With both teams missing their strongest rebounders, the Lakers found a way to dominate the boards, outrebounding Minnesota 66-49. But the key stat was the Lakers' shooting in the first quarter and a half. At the time Los Angeles built a 29 point lead, they were shooting 70.6 percent from the floor and 81.1 percent from beyond the arc.

TURNING POINT: Minnesota kept chiseling away af the Lakers' lead, cutting it to four points with 5:55 to play. The Lakers responded by putting the ball in Bryant's hands, who found a cutting Gasol for a dunk-and-one. The next time down the floor, Kobe did the same thing, finding Antawn Jamison. The resulting nine point lead, combined with some made free throws in the final minutes, gave Los Angeles the victory.

QUOTABLE II: "They made every single shot. It didn't matter who it was. Whoever came into the game. Gasol hit two 17 footers -- everybody was knocking it down. And that just fed their confidence."

-- Minnesota coach Rick Adelman

HOT: Los Angeles seemingly could not miss from three early in the game. By the middle of the second quarter, the Lakers were 9-for-11 from beyond the arc.

NOT: After Steve Nash's 3 at 6:22 in the second (which gave the Lakers their 29 point lead), Los Angeles was 3-for-22 from 3-pointer. Wolves offset that stat a little with some ineptitude of their own, only hitting 44.4 percent of their free throws (8-for-18).

GOOD MOVE: In the third quarter, Adelman put his team in a zone defense. The Lakers did not adapt, going 3-for-19 from the floor in the quarter.

QUOTABLE III: "We shifted to a zone in the third and we communicated a little bit better and got it back to four. But we just couldn't get over the hump. We were too far down."

-- Rick Adelman

BAD MOVE: J. J. Barea venting some frustration after being taken out of the game in the second quarter with his team down 25 points. His outburst, laced with a few "colorful metaphors" and well-heard by surrounding fans, might draw him a fine from the league.

NOTABLE: The Los Angeles Lakers now have a 20 game winning streak against Minnesota, the longest active win streak in the NBA. But they have struggled lately, coming into this game with only five victories over their last 16 games. They were also only 5-16 on the road this season. Minnesota has struggled recently as well, having now lost 11 of their last 12.